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PNS Daily Newscast - March 21, 2019

The nation’s acting Defense Secretary is under investigation for promoting Boeing, his former employer. Also on the Thursday rundown: The Trump administration’s spending blueprint being called a “bully budget.” Plus, a call for the feds to protect consumers from abusive lenders.

But Charles DellaRocco, a Connecticut Judicial Branch police officer, says when the state asked for sacrifices in those areas five years ago, they came through.

"And we gave $1.6 billion in concessions back then," says DellaRocco. "And we also signed within that contract that it would not be opened up until 2022."

Faced with a $220 million shortfall in this year's budget, and a $900 million deficit in the next, Gov. Malloy says without cuts to state workers' benefits, the state may be forced to lay off thousands.

But according to DellaRocco, more concessions won't close the gaps and, unless the state looks elsewhere for income, workers will still be laid off, putting public safety at risk.

"With the numbers that they're talking, 4,000 to 5,000, that's going to hit Connecticut pretty hard and cause a lot of issues," he says. "I just don't know if the workforce can actually sustain that. I think that's way too much."

DellaRocco points out that pubic employees are taxpayers too, and says the state should find new ways to raise revenue, rather than making state workers once again bear the burden of closing budget gaps.

"I'm getting hit pretty hard as it is, not only through my municipality but also with the state and now, them wanting to come after my pension and health care, I'm just getting taxed again," he says.

Governor Malloy says the next round of retirements, which won't be announced until April 1, may help reduce the number of workers who will be laid off.